“Dale come?” he asked. “Dale come home?”
Dale’s face broke. “Can’t, buddy. I gotta… stay here. But you… you’re gonna go home. Be with… mama and daddy. Be safe.”
“You don’t need me,” Dale said gently. “You just needed… someone to show you… you’re gonna be okay. And you are. You’re so strong, Emmett. So brave.”
Jessica was crying. “Thank you. Thank you for giving us our son back. For showing him he can feel safe. For—”
“Thank you,” Dale interrupted. “For letting me… matter. In the end.”
Dale slipped into unconsciousness that night. The doctors said it would be hours now, maybe a day. His brothers called everyone. Forty-three bikers showed up, filling the hallway outside Dale’s room.
Jessica heard about it through a nurse who knew she and Dale had bonded. She grabbed Emmett—who’d been asking for Dale non-stop since they got home—and drove to the hospital.
The ICU nurses tried to stop her. “Only family allowed when a patient is—”
“We ARE family,” Jessica said firmly. “Maybe not by blood. But that man in there saved my son. Let us say goodbye.”
Snake came out into the hallway and saw them. He understood immediately. “Let them in.”
“Yeah, buddy,” Jessica whispered. “Dale’s sleeping.”
She placed Emmett on the bed, right against Dale’s chest. The toddler’s ear went right over Dale’s heart, like it had so many times before.Continue reading…
